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LIST  OF  ilEPEREHGES  OH  CHEST:bnJT  THEE  DISEASE. 


Chester,  F.D.:  Blight  of  Japanese  Chestnuts. 

14th  Ann,  Rpt.,  Del.,  Col.  Agr, 
Exp.  Sta.  1902,  pp. 44-45,  1903. 


Clinton, S. P. :   Studies  of  the  Chestnut  Bark  Di- 
sease.  Conn.  St.  Kept.,  1907-8, 
pt.  12,  pp.  879-890,  (E.S.R.,vol. 
21,  p.  742.) 


Duggar,  B.M.:   Fungous  Diseases  of  Plants,  pp. 

281-282.   Ginn  &  Co.,  Boston, 1909. 


Gaskill,  A.:    The  Chestnut  Blight. 

3rd  Ann.  Rpt.,  Forest  Park  Reser- 
vation Commission  of  N. J., 1907, 
pp.  45-46,  1908, 


Hodson,  E.R.:   Extent  and  Importance  of  the  C 'nest- ^ 
nut  Bark  Disease.   Circ.  (unnumher  ed) 
Forest  Service,  U.S.Dept .Agr .  Oct, 
21,  1908. 


Massachusetts  State  Forester:   The  Chestnut  Bark 

Disease,   XXX  Pamphlet,  10  pp.     ]/ 
illus.  map.  1912. 


lyiassee,  George :  Di  seases  of  Cultivated  plants  an^ 

Trees,  p.  210.  MacMillan,  London,, 
1910.  r,. 


Coli\H5  -^ 


2. 


M e rkel ,    II e rmann  W . :    A  de ad ly  f  u ngu s    on    the  Ajne r i - 

can   Cliestnut.      10th  Ann.   Hpt., 
N.Y.    Zoological   Society,    pp, 
96-103,    1906. 


Metcalf ,    Haven:  Chestnut  Bark  Disease. 

Science,    n,s.,   May   1.5,1910, 
no.    802,    p.    748, 


Diseases  of  Ornamental  Trees, 
Year  book^  U.S,Dept.  Agr.,1907, 
pp.  489-490, 


The  Immunity  of  the  Japanese 
Chestnut  to  the  bark  disease.  ^ 
Bur.  Plant,  Ind,,  U.S.Dept. 
Agr.,  Bull  121,  pp.  55-56,1908, 


Metcalf,  H.  &  Collins,  J.F.:   The  Present  StatBS 

of  the  Chestnut  Bark  Disease,  l^ 
U.S.Dept  .Agr  .,  Eur. Plant  Ind., 
Bull.  141,  -  Part  V.   including 
Bibliography.   See  also  Bull. 
149. 


.^^^«.  :.   Control  of  the  Chest- 
nut Bark  Disease.   Framers*    i/ 
Bulletin,  467,  TJ.S.D.A,  ,1911, 


Morris,  Robert  T.:   Chestnut  timber  going  to  waste. 

Conservation,  Vol.  15,  no . 4 
p.  2^6,  1909. 


Iwurrill,   William  A.:    A  New  CheBtnut   disease. 

Torreya,    Vol.6,    no. 9,    pp 
186-189,    1906. 


A  Serious  Cliestnut  disease. 
Journ.  TT.Y.Bot  .Gard  .  ,vol.7, 
no...78,pp.    143-153,    1906. 


Editorial  paragraph  in  l,Ty- 
cologia,  vol.  1,  ^1,  "D.SC, 
1909. 


Further  remark 8  on  a  serious 
chestnut  diseef^e,   Journ. 
(IT.y.  Bot.  Gard,,  vol.7,  Ho. 
81,  pp.  203-211,  1906. 


Spread  of  the  Chestnut  di- 
cease.   Journ,  TT.Y.Bot  .Gard, 
vol.  9,  !To,  98,  pp.  23-30,  " 
1908. 


The  Chestnut  Canker.   Torreya, 
vol.  8,  ITo,  5,  pp.  111-112,: 
1908. 


Penn3ylva,nia  Chestnut  Tree  Bark  Diseaee  Confer- 
ence: Report,  KarriRhur^,  "Fel^ruary  V^ 

20  and  21,  1912. 


4. 


Pennsylvania  Dept.    of   Forestry:      Report    on    the 

Chestnut    tree    blight,    XXX,    hy        y 
John  Hickleborough,    pamphlet, 
16   pp.    illus,,   May,    1909. 


Powell,    G.H.:  Notes    on   Chestnut  Disease®. 

Del.  Bull.  42,  Dec,  1893,  pp. 
20,  21,  fig.  1.  (S.S.R.,  vol. 
10,    p.    962.) 


iehm,    H. :  Ascomycetes    exs .   Fasc,    39,    #1710, 

Annales  Kycol ogica,    vol.    5,    p, 
210,    1907. 


sterling,    E.A.:      Are  v/e   to    lose   our   Chestnut 

Forests   ?        Country  Life    in  Amer- 
ica,   vol,    15,    no.    1,    pn .    44-45, 
3.908. 


tVilliarns,    I.e.:      '^\\e  Hew  Chestnut  Bark  Disease . 

Science,    (n.s.)      Vol.   XX_Xr/,    Ho. 
874,    Sept.    29,    1911. 


--- „^  „«„„... -^„^        Addition  <^1  Facts   about    the   Chest< 

nut  Blight. 

Science,    vol.    (n.S.)   XJLXIV,    ITo. 
882,    Hov.    24,    1911. 

1^  .^.^-ti^L  *"u>u<A.A^uJi.  iS7- (^*»^^''1» 


LIBRARY  OF  THE 

Massacliiisetts  Agricultural  Colle^e^ 

AMHERST,   MASS, 


THE 

CHESTNUT  BARK 
DISEASE 


STATE   FORESTER 

6  Beacon  Street,  Boston,  Mass. 


THE 

CHESTNUT    BARK 
DISEASE 


Where  found  in  Massachusetts 

How  to  tell  the  disease 

Methods  of  control 

Trees  should  be  utilized  before  they  die 


STATE  FORESTER 

6  BEACON  ST.,  BOSTON,  MASS. 


jP 


BOSTON 

WRIGHT  &  POTTER  PRINTING  COMPANY,  STATE  PRINTERS 

18  POST  OFFICE  SQUARE 

1912 


Appeoved  bt 
The  State  Board  op  Publication. 


THE  CHESTNUT  BARK  DISEASE. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

Our  Massachusetts  citizens  should  be  thoroughly  alive  to  the 
very  destructive  disease  of  the  chestnut  trees  which  is  threaten- 
ing to  say  the  least,  if  it  is  not  indeed  already  present  in  every 
section  of  the  State. 

By  reading  this  bulletin  and  studying  the  illustrations  you 
should  be  able  to  determine  whether  the  disease  is  present  in  your 
section,  and  to  what  extent. 

While  it  had  been  found  here  and  there  in  the  State  previous 
to  this  year,  we  were  surprised  to  discover,  upon  a  careful  examina- 
tion by  experts  this  season,  that  the  infestation  is  quite  general. 
(See  map.) 

This  bulletin  can  be  secured  free,  for  use  in  schools,  granges, 
farmers'  clubs  or  for  individuals  throughout  the  State,  by  ad- 
dressing the  State  Forester,  6  Beacon  Street,  Boston. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 

Acknowledgment  is  hereby  made  to  Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  467 
of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  from  which  all 
quoted  portions  of  this  pamphlet  have  been  taken,  and  for  a 
photograph  from  which  Fig.  2  is  reproduced. 

Mr.  Arthur  H.  Graves,  M.F.,  of  the  United  States  Department 
of  Agriculture,  spent  the  summer  months  studying  and  locating 
the  disease  throughout  the  State.  Following  Mr.  Graves,  Mr.  John 
Murdock,  Jr.,  M.F.,  was  assigned  to  the  work,  and  he  secured 
the  data  and  photographs  in  this  publication.  Mr.  Murdock  was 
aided  by  various  assistants  on  the  State  Forester's  staff  and  by 
Mr.  G.  H.  Allen,  B.S.,  in  particular. 


F.  W.   RANE, 

State  Forester. 


3  ;'6?3 


THE  DISEASE, 

HISTORY  AND  DISTRIBUTION. 

"The  chestnut  bark  disease  was  first  recognized  as  a  serious 
disease  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York  City  in  1904.  ...  Its  origin 
is  unknown,  but  there  is  some  evidence  that  it  was  imported  from 
the  Orient  with  the  Japanese  chestnut.  ...  It  is  certain  that  it 
has  now  spread  into  at  least  10  States." 

"  So  far  as  is  now  known,  the  bark  disease  is  Hmited  to  the  true 
chestnuts  —  that  is,  to  the  members  of  the  genus  Castanea.  The 
American  chestnut,  the  chinquapin  and  the  cultivated  varieties 
of  the  European  chestnut  are  all  readily  subject  to  the  disease. 
Only  the  Japanese  and  perhaps  other  east  Asian  varieties  appear 
to  have  resistance.  In  spite  of  popular  reports  to  the  contrary, 
it  can  be  quite  positively  stated  that  the  bark  disease  is  not  now 
known  to  occur  on  living  oaks,  horse-chestnuts,  beeches,  hickories 
or  the  golden-leaf  chinquapin  (Castanopsis  chrysophylla)  of  the 
Pacific  coast." 

DISTRIBUTION  IN  MASSACHUSETTS, 

The  serious  character  of  the  attack  of  the  disease  in  this  State 
was  not  realized  until  the  past  summer.  During  June,  July  and 
August  Mr.  A.  H.  Graves,  representing  the  United  States  De- 
partment of  Agriculture,  made  a  tour  of  various  portions  of 
Massachusetts.  This  was  supplemented  by  work  done  during 
the  late  fall  by  two  special  representatives  from  this  office.  These 
investigations  show  that  the  blight  is  very  widely  scattered  over 
the  State.  In  Berkshire,  Hampden,  Hampshire,  Franklin  and 
western  Worcester  counties  the  infection  is  general;  sporadic 
cases  have  been  discovered  as  far  east  as  Bedford,  Quincy  and 
Taunton.  The  accompanying  map  (Fig.  4)  shows  all  cases  which 
have  been  examined  closely  enough  to  be  certain  that  the  damage 
was  caused  by  the  disease.  In  the  western  portion  of  the  State 
each  symbol  commonly  indicates  a  group  of  infected  trees,  often 
covering  a  considerable  area;  in  the  eastern  portion  most  of  the 
cases  consist  of  single  trees  or  small  groups.  In  one  locality  in 
Alford,  indicated  by  a  special  symbol  on  the  map,  all  the  trees 


on  an  acre  of  pure  chestnut  were  found  dead  in  1910;  all  the 
trees  for  some  distance  around  are  seriously  infected  and  will 
die  by  next  summer;  and  a  heavy  percentage  of  the  chestnut  is 
infected  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  over  an  area  of  perhaps  a  square 
mile.  No  other  case  has  been  discovered  in  Massachusetts  in 
which  more  than  one  or  two  trees  in  a  place  are  dead,  though 
there  are  many  localities  in  the  western  part  of  the  State  in  which 
100  per  cent,  of  the  chestnut  is  infected,  and  will  undoubtedly  die 
within  one  or  two  years. 

CAUSE  AND  SYMPTOMS* 

"The  chestnut  bark  disease  is  caused  by  a  fungus  parasite  known 
under  the  technical  name  of  Diaporthe  parasitica  Murrill.  When 
any  of  the  microscopic  spores  of  this  fungus  gain  entrance  into 
any  part  of  the  trunk  or  limbs  of  a  chestnut  tree  they  give  rise 
to  a  spreading  'sore'  or  lesion.  ...  If  the  part  attacked  happens 
to  be  the  trunk,  the  whole  tree  ...  is  killed,  perhaps  in  a  single 
season.  If  the  smaller  branches  are  attacked,  only  those  branches 
are  killed  .  .  .  and  the  remainder  of  the  tree  may  survive  for 
several  years." 

"  Some  of  the  symptoms  are  quite  prominent.  Limbs "  —  or 
the  trunks  of  young  trees  —  "with  smooth  bark  attacked  by  the 
fungus  soon  show  dead,  somewhat  discolored,  sunken  areas  (occa- 
sionally with  a  raised  margin) "  —  or  the  outer  bark  may,  in  the 
earlier  stages,  be  raised  in  the  form  of  a  blister  —  "which  continue 
to  enlarge  and  soon  become  covered  more  or  less  thickly  with 
yellow,  orange  or  reddish-brown  spots  about  the  size  of  a  pin- 
head.  These  spots  are  the  pustules  of  the  fruiting  fungus.  In 
damp  weather  ...  masses  of  summer  spores  are  extruded  in 
the  form  of  long,  irregularly  twisted  strings  or  'horns,'  which  are 
at  jBrst  bright  yellow  to  greenish  yellow  or  even  buff,  becoming 
darker  with  age  (Fig.  2).  ...  If  the  lesion  is  on  .  .  .  thick 
bark  .  .  .  the  pustules  show  in  the  cracks.  .  .  .  After  smooth- 
barked  limbs  or  trunks  are  girdled  the  fungus  continues  to  grow 
extensively  through  the  bark,  sometimes  covering  the  entire  sur- 
face with  reddish-brown  pustules  (Fig.  3).  These  pustules  pro- 
duce mostly  winter  spores.  ..." 

"  After  a  trunk  or  branch  is  girdled  the  leaves  change  color  and 
sooner  or  later  wither.    Such  branches  have  a  very  characteristic 


6 

appearance.  ...  In  case  the  girdling  is  completed  late  in  the 
season,  the  leaves  of  the  following  spring  assume  a  yellowish  or 
pale  appearance  and  do  not  develop  to  their  full  size.  .  .  .  The 
chestnut  fruits  (burs)  on  a  spring-girdled  branch  may  or  may  not 
attain  full  size.  .  .  .  These  burs  commonly  persist  on  the  tree 
during  the  following  winter.  ..."  The  dead  leaves  also  frequently 
persist  through  at  least  the  first  part  of  the  winter. 

"Perhaps  the  most  easily  seen  as  well  as  the  longest  persistent 
symptom  of  the  bark  disease  is  the  prompt  development  of  sprouts 
or  *  suckers '  on  the  trunk  of  the  tree  (Fig.  5)  and  at  its  base,  or 
somewhat  less  frequently  on  the  smaller  branches.  Sprouts  may 
appear  below  every  girdling  lesion  on  a  tree,  and  there  are  usually 
many  such  lesions.  These  sprouts  are  usually  very  luxuriant  and 
quick  growing,  but  rarely  survive  the  second  or  third  year,  as  they 
in  turn  are  killed  by  the  fungus.  .  .  .  Sprouts  are  sometimes  pro- 
duced as  a  result  of  other  injuries,  ..."  and  are  common  fol- 
lowing thinning  of  a  chestnut  stand  as  a  result  of  the  increased 
amount  of  light  admitted. 

MEANS  OF  SPREAD  AND  ENTRANCE* 

"  The  disease  is  spread  by  the  spores  of  the  fungus,"  —  minute, 
dust-like  bodies  corresponding  to  the  seeds  of  higher  plants,  — 
"of  which  there  are  two  kinds.  .  .  .  The  spores  .  .  .  by  rain  .  .  . 
are  washed  down  from  twig  infections  to  the  lower  parts  of  the 
tree.  There  is  strong  evidence  that  the  spores  are  spread  exten- 
sively by  birds,  especially  woodpeckers,"  —  thus  causing  the 
isolated  areas  of  infection  far  ahead  of  the  main  line  of  advance,  — 
"and  there  is  also  excellent  evidence  that  they  are  spread  by  in- 
sects and  by  various  rodents,  such  as  squirrels.  ..."  Although 
both  kinds  of  spores  are  said  to  be  sticky,  the  uniform  and  often 
rapid  spread  of  the  disease  from  a  center  of  infection  would  seem 
to  indicate  that  they  are  often  carried  to  some  distance  by  the 
wind.  An  infected  area  may,  under  favorable  conditions,  increase 
by  several  hundred  per  cent,  in  the  course  of  a  single  season.  Ap- 
parently there  has  been  a  great  spread  of  the  disease  during  the 
wet  weather  of  the  past  autumn. 

"When  the  spores  have  once  been  carried  to  a  healthy  tree, 
they  may  develop  in  any  sort  of  a  hole  in  the  bark  which  is  reason- 
ably moist.    These  may  be  wounds  or  mechanical  injuries,  but  by 


LEGEND 

%     Area  without  Chestnut 
^     Chestnut  seamy  or  wanTincj 
' "     Infection,  loco  fed  by  Graves 

"  Allen  Si  Murdoch 
"  reliable  report 
worst  seen  in  State 


FIO.  4.  — Map  fihowliig^  the  Distribution  of  the  Disease  In  Massachusetts,  as  known  Jan.  1, 1912.    The  Lighter  Portions  of  the  Map  is  where  Chestnut  (frowa  naturally. 


far  the  most  common  place  of  infection  is  a  tunnel  made  by  a 
borer.  ..." 

The  disease  attacks  only  living  trees,  but  the  fungus  apparently 
may  continue  to  grow  in  the  bark  and  to  produce  an  abundance  of 
spores  for  six  months  or  more  after  the  tree  has  died. 

STATISTICS. 

The  following  table,  compiled  from  the  best  data  available  in 
this  office,  shows  the  approximate  stand  of  chestnut,  by  acres,  in 
each  county  and  for  the  whole  State.  The  areas  bearing  more  or 
less  chestnut  in  mixture  with  other  species  have  been  reduced 
to  the  equivalent  areas  of  pure  chestnut  stand.  It  will  be  seen 
that  approximately  one-sixth  of  the  total  forest  area  of  the  State 
is  now  covered  with  chestnut. 

It  is  estimated  that,  roughly  speaking,  20  per  cent,  of  the  chest- 
nut area  bears  trees  large  enough  at  the  present  time  to  be  cut 
for  ties  or  better  classes  of  products.  Perhaps  one-half  of  the 
remainder  could,  if  sufficiently  near  a  market,  be  cut  for  cord- 
wood.    The  balance  carries  young  sprouts. 


COTJNTT. 

Area  (Acres). 

Forest  Area 
(Acres). 

Per  Cent. 

Chestnut  Area 
(Acres.) 

Per  Cent. 

Barnstable,  . 
Berkshire,     . 
Bristol, 
Dukes, 
Essex,  . 
Franklin, 
Hampden,    . 
Hampshire, 
Middlesex,    . 
Nantucket,  . 
Norfolk, 
Plymouth,    . 
Sufiolk, 
Worcester,    . 

263,273 
630,904 
367,642 

71,786 
326,660 
441,560 
412,934 
380,032 
657,830 

32,220 
295,975 
635,363 

36,046 
994,560 

140,135 
330,074 
117,193 
23,786 
108,537 
224,850 
127,890 
146,997 
182,662 

1,164 
120,916 
188,937 

2,688 
372,780 

53.0 
54.0 
32.0 
33.0 
33.0 
50.0 
31.0 
38.0 
28.0 

3.6 
41.0 
30.0 

7.4 
37.0 

No  chestnut. 
81,500 
11,000 

No  chestnut. 

Practically  no 
chestnut. 
24,000 

36,000 

28,500 

19,500 

No  chestnut. 

18,500 

Chestnut  neg- 
ligible. 

Chestnut  neg- 
ligible. 
113,000 

25.0 
.      9.0 

11.0 
28.0 
19.0 
17.0 

15.0 
30.0 

State,     . 

5,321,787 

1,972,950 

37.7 

332,000 

16.8 

8 

FUTURE  OF  THE  CHESTNUT. 

USES  OF  CHESTNUT. 

Owing  to  its  durability  in  contact  with  the  soil,  chestnut  is  the 
best  of  all  woods  growing  in  any  appreciable  quantity  in  Mas- 
sachusetts for  such  articles  as  ties,  telephone  poles  and  small 
bridge  timbers.  It  is  also  used  to  a  considerable  extent  for  bridge 
planking.  It  makes  a  low  grade  of  shingles,  barrel  staves,  and 
boxboards.  It  furnishes  a  rather  inferior  quality  of  cordwood, 
but  is  much  used  at  the  limekilns  of  Berkshire  County,  and  also 
has  a  considerable  local  use  for  fuel.  It  is  also  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  furniture,  especially  as  a  foundation  for  oak  veneering. 

In  the  southern  portion  of  its  range,  where  the  percentage  of 
tannin  contained  is  the  highest,  and  where  the  supply  is  concen- 
trated, great  quantities  of  chestnut  are  used  in  the  production  of 
tanning  extract.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  establish  this 
industry  locally,  and  it  is  doubted  whether  the  supply  tributary 
to  any  one  point  is  sufficient  to  justify  the  erection  of  the  expensive 
plant  necessary. 

POSSIBILITY  OF  CHECKING  THE  DISEASE 
IN  MASSACHUSETTS. 

It  is  admitted  that  after  the  disease  has  once  become  well 
established' in  a  locality  there  is  no  practicable  method  of  eradi- 
cating it.  To  prevent  the  further  spread  of  the  blight,  a  "dead 
line"  must  be  drawn  near  the  main  front  of  the  advance  of  the 
disease.  Behind  this  the  chestnut  must  be  abandoned.  Outside 
of  it,  all  cases  of  the  disease  must  be  located  and  the  diseased  trees 
destroyed.  The  survey  of  the  State  which  has  been  made  shows 
that,  were  such  a  line  to  be  drawn  now,  not  less  than  two-thirds 
of  the  total  chestnut  stand  of  the  State,  probably  much  more, 
must  be  left  behind  it.  To  eradicate  the  disease  outside  the  line 
would  necessitate  a  tree-by-tree  inspection  of  every  patch  of 
timber  containing  chestnut  throughout  the  rest  of  Massachusetts, 
since  the  blight  has  been  found  at  or  near  the  eastern  limit  of 
the  species  across  the  entire  width  of  the  State.  The  expense  of 
such  an  examination  would  be  enormous,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
cost  of  removing  the  diseased  trees  when  located,  and  of  the  sub- 


Fig.  3 .  —  Section  of  infected  bark,  showing  pustules  producing  winter  spores. 
Specimen  obtained  atBarre,  Mass.,  December,  1911. 


9 


sequent  re-examinations  necessary  to  locate  new  infections  and  to 
make  sure  that  none  had  been  overlooked  in  the  first  instance. 
The  work  has  not  progressed  far  enough  in  Pennsylvania,  where 
the  most  determined  effort  is  being  made,  to  show  that  it  will  be 
successful.  In  view  of  the  comparatively  small  amount  of  timber 
that  could  be  saved  in  any  case,  the  great  cost  of  the  work  and  the 
uncertainty  of  final  success,  it  is  not  believed  that  any  State-wide 
attempt  to  check  the  disease  is  advisable.  The  State  Forester  is 
reluctantly  compelled  to  predict  the  probability  of  the  practical 
extermination  of  the  chestnut  in  Massachusetts  within  a  com- 
paratively short  term  of  years. 

It  is  possible  that  in  the  case  of  valuable  groves,  especially  in 
localities  where  there  is  not  much  other  chestnut  for  some  dis- 
tance, vigorous  local  action  may  be  able  to  preserve  the  timber. 
Such  action  is  not  advised  unless  there  is  a  local  market  which 
will  dispose  of  the  diseased  trees  as  they  are  cut. 

FUTURE  MARKET. 

Although  chestnut  is  a  very  durable  wood  when  cut  green  and 
properly  seasoned,  the  sapwood  of  dead  trees  left  on  the  stump 
soon  rots.  The  railroads  assert  that  the  wood  of  trees  attacked 
by  the  disease  deteriorates  even  before  the  death  of  the  tree,  in 
that  ties  cut  from  such  trees  do  not  hold  spikes  as  well  as  do  those 
from  uninfected  trees.  Since  the  bulk  of  the  chestnut  in  Mas- 
sachusetts seems  doomed  to  infection  within  a  few  years  it  is 
evident  that  sound  chestnut  timber  will  soon  be  an  exceedingly 
scarce  article  in  this  State.  Although  the  price  of  timber  from 
infected  trees  will  fall  very  low  in  the  next  year  or  two,  as  the 
market  becomes  flooded  with  such  material,  and  will  undoubtedly 
carry  the  price  of  sound  material  with  it  for  a  few  years,  it  is 
certain  that  the  price  of  sound  chestnut  lumber  will  rise  again 
before  long,  and  should  reach  figures  considerably  above  those 
prevalent  before  the  effects  of  the  disease  began  to  be  felt  in  the 
market. 

Any  chestnut  that  is  allowed  to  stand  until  killed  by  the  disease 
will  certainly  be  a  dead  loss.  A  great  quantity  of  chestnut  will 
probably  be  cut  and  thrown  on  the  market  when  threatened  with 
the  disease,  and  prices  will  fall  until  they  will  no  more  than  cover 
the  cost  of  lumbering,  leaving  no  margin  for  stumpage.     But  a 


10 

man  who  is  able  to  cut  ties,  poles,  etc.,  while  his  trees  are  still  sound, 
and  so  pile  them  that  they  will  keep  for  some  years,  will  then 
have  an  article  that  will  be  exceedingly  scarce,  and  that  should 
pay  a  good  profit  on  the  investment.  Statistics  show  that  the 
average  life  of  a  chestnut  tie  in  active  service  is  eight  years.  Ma- 
terial carefully  piled  should  be  in  good  condition  after  at  least  the 
same  period. 

SUMMARY. 

1.  The  chestnut  disease  is  now  almost  universally  distributed 
throughout  the  State.  In  the  western  half,  infection  is  quite 
general;  in  the  eastern  half,  the  centers  of  infection  are  mostly 
small. 

2.  The  area  of  severe  infection  is  already  so  great,  and  the  pro- 
portion of  chestnut  that  there  would  be  any  hope  of  saving  s  so 
small,  that  the  Commonwealth  would  not  be  justified  in  making 
any  attempt  to  stop  the  disease. 

3.  Chestnut  forms  approximately  one-sixth  of  the  timber  of 
Massachusetts.  Practicall}^  all  of  this  is  almost  certain  to  die 
within  comparatively  few  years  unless  some  unforeseen  conditions 
come  to  its  rescue. 

4.  Timber  attacked  by  the  disease  soon  becomes  unmerchant- 
able. Timber  cut  before  it  is  infested  may  be  seasoned  and  kept 
for  many  years. 

5.  This  bulletin  is  not  for  the  purpose  of  over-exaggeration  of 
the  chestnut  disease,  but  is  to  give  our  citizens  the  exact  conditions 
as  they  now  appear.  Let  every  one  interested  acquaint  himself 
with  his  conditions  by  looking  over  the  trees  in  his  section.  The 
illustrations  will  aid  you. 

6.  The  State  Forester's  office  stands  ready  to  examine  and  give 
advice  on  chestnut  stands  in  any  section  of  the  State  for  traveling 
expenses  only.  The  State  may  see  its  way  to  meet  even  this  ex- 
pense later.    We  desire  to  assist  in  every  way  possible. 


Fig.  5.  —  An  infected  tree,  showing  the  characteristic  production  of  "suckers. 
Douglas,  Mass.,  Jan.  6,  1912. 


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Fig.  6. — A  clump    of  infected  sprouts,  showing  the  characteristic  bushy  ap- 
pearance of  the  "suckers"  on  trees  of  this  size.    Douglas,  Mass.,  Jan.  6, 1912. 


